Notorious Nineteen: A Stephanie Plum Novel

After a slow summer of chasing low-level skips for her cousin Vinnie's bail bonds agency, Stephanie Plum finally lands an assignment that could put her checkbook back in the black. Geoffrey Cubbin, facing trial for embezzling millions from Trenton's premier assisted-living facility, has mysteriously vanished from the hospital after an emergency appendectomy. Now it's on Stephanie to track down the con man. Unfortunately, Cubbin has disappeared without a trace, a witness, or his money-hungry wife. Rumors are stirring that he must have had help with the daring escape...or that maybe he never made it out of his room alive.

I've read and re-read and thoroughly enjoyed each of the first 12 books in this series. More and more the series has become just the same thing over and over; Stephanie's car blows up, she and Lula eat vast quantities of fast food, Ranger is hot, Joe is hot, Grandma Mazur is eccentric and there is pineapple upside down cake for dessert. The plots have become flat and the dialog predictable. Generally character development has stopped. Notorious Nineteen is just a little bit better than the last few books in that we've learned a little more about Ranger but for the most part it seems like Evanovich has been just calling them in... you can no longer sense the author's investment in the characters or story line.

Don't misunderstand; I will read the next book and the any after that but it's time for some forward movement, it's starting to feel like the same book over and over again. I'm completely invested in the series and love each of the characters so I am a die-hard fan who will keep reading whatever comes. For those of you who haven't read any of the series do not make this your first book, it is not the best or even very good. Go back and start with book one... you will be hooked too.

The narration couldn't be any better Lorelei King is the best!!! She gives each character a personality and makes them come alive.

The Husband's Secret

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret - something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive....

I was hooked from the first page, anxious to see what came next. The first few chapters were a little complex; the back story set up of 3 different stories and multiple characters . I found the first part easier to follow reading and avoid having to rewind over and over so I bought the kindle book and used the whispersync feature which works flawlessly! The relationship of the characters became ever more clear as their story unfolds. Great character development. It is a book that made me think about what I would do under similar circumstances.

And One Last Thing...

Lacey Terwilliger's shock and humiliation over her husband's philandering prompt her to add some bonus material to Mike's company newsletter: stunning Technicolor descriptions of the special brand of "administrative support" his receptionist gives him. The detailed mass e-mail to Mike's family, friends, and clients blows up in her face, and before one can say "instant urban legend", Lacey has become the pariah of her small Kentucky town and a media punch line....

Starts very strong but loses a little bit of it's bite and falls into predictability along way. Some of the characters remain two dimensional but it is witty and well written. Well worth the time and credit. The narration is flawless.

Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death: Agatha Raisin, Book 1

After years of bullying and cajoling others as a high-flying public relations boss, Agatha Raisin’s early retirement to the picture-postcard village of Carsley in the Cotswolds is a dream come true. And how better to begin making herself a local leading light than by entering the village quiche-making competition? Unburdened by old-fashioned ideas of fair play, the ruthless Agatha decides to ensure she wins by buying her entry from a London delicatessen.

I generally like cozy novels for an occasional light read but this one.... not so much. I had a difficult time deciding on how many stars to apply because the writing and performance was good. The main character is completely unlikable; arrogant, self-centered and manipulative. Even in her softer more vulnerable moments I couldn't feel sympathy. If I can't like the main character, I can't like the book. I scored the performance without regard to the characters, I scored the story knocking off only one star because of the main character. I think I'm being fair, if I were to score it on strictly my reading enjoyment it would have gotten an overall score of 2 stars. This is a long running series so perhaps she had mellowed over time but I'm not curious enough to read through more of her adventures to find out.

White Queen

They ruled England before the Tudors, and now internationally best-selling author Philippa Gregory brings the Plantagenets to life through the dramatic and intimate stories of the secret players: the indomitable women.

A wonderfully written examination of the English Royal Family that came before the Tudors. The White Queen is the first in a trilogy, this first edition focuses on Elizabeth Woodville. It's brother against brother, cousin against cousin, scratching and clawing to keep or gain the Thrown. Good character development, some admitted literary license with the facts. All in all a very good read. Interestingly, book 2 in this trilogy focuses on Margaret Beaufort, Henry VIII's paternal grandmother. After reading so much about Margaret Beaufort in this book it has quelled my desire to read book 2. Margaret Beaufort is not even a little sympathetic and so unlikable that I'm disinclined to read any more about her. Go figure.

Joyland

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever. Joyland is a brand-new novel and has never previously been published.

The last few King novels have been some of his best work and Joyland is no exception to this trend. I hung in there with Duma Key but couldn't make it through Lisey's Story and then came Under the Dome and 11/23/63 and suddenly Stephen is back!! A coming of age story with bittersweet nostalgic remembrances of what might have been all rolled into a world that is fascinating and a little unsettling and scary. Memorable characters, interesting looks at growing up, first heart break, first summer job, getting old and looking back. Good read!

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

The child of a scheming father and ruthless mother, Lady Jane Grey is born during a time when ambition dictates action. Cousin to Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I, she is merely a pawn in a political and religious game in which one false step means a certain demise. But Lady Jane has remarkable qualities that help her to withstand the constant pressures of the royal machinery far better than most expect.

A wonderful fictional account of the short and tragic life of Lady Jane Grey. A young girl who was caught up in the power hungry Protestant faction of the Tudor court, desperate to keep the fanatical Catholic Mary Tudor away from the throne. I had known little about Lady Jane Grey's very brief reign as Queen of England and found the book sparked my interest to do the research to learn more.

The story is told through the points of view of many characters that keeps it interesting. Great read

Thirteen Reasons Why

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah's voice explains that there are 13 reasons she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out why.

An interesting premise of one persons behavior can create a profound ripple effect on others. The book is so fast paced that is doesn't allow the reader to become overly emotionally about a teen suicide.

Clay Jensen is a sympathetic, likable and relatable character. Hannah Baker is a bit frustrating making empathy for her difficult. Hannah's many reasons for her suicide seem a bit weak given that through her narration she seemed to have such a strong and clear understanding of her own actions and motivations, the actions and motivations of others and how it all affected her. Oddly, she seemed a little too well adjusted to turn to suicide.

Sending tapes to those she held responsible for her suicide felt a little more like a revenge story than a story of a spiral down into utter hopelessness. The tapes made her as petty and manipulative as some of those who wronged her.

Flaws aside, the story is compelling and will keep you interested until the very end.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

Why we think it’s a great listen:Seabiscuit was a runaway success, and Hillenbrand’s done it again with another true-life account about beating unbelievable odds. On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared.....

This is an amazing story, perfectly paced and masterfully told. Generally I avoid war stories of any kind but reluctantly made an exception based upon the high recommendation and urging of a friend. I was hooked from the first chapter and couldn't pull myself away until the end It kept me up til the wee hours of morning, finishing it in less than a day. It truly is a Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption that you will not soon forget. Just one point of caution; the survival part of the story is not for faint of heart Nothing gratuitous just a clear account of the cruelty and dehumanizing treatment of WWII POW"s. Beautifully written but sometimes emotionally draining for the reader. Impeccably narrated as well.

A Discovery of Witches

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library.

I was very disappointed after reading so many good reviews and talk of an adult version of Twilight. After reading it, I’m thinking more Twilight meets Bewitched and nothing too adult about it except some adult beverages. Wonderful idea, very poor delivery. The editor failed the author miserably… this was much too long, too many extraneous details that in no way added to the story or character development. The heroine, Diana, is repeatedly described as a strong, independent, powerful witch but her actions were not at all. She was the ever suffering victim; helpless, subservient and dependent. Our hero, the vampire Matthew, wasn't quite as annoying as Diana but very cliche as a secretive, brooding and angry Vamp. The poor character development and their lack of believable chemistry left me unable to care about either of them. The grand romance was tepid, at best. It had a very adolescent feel about it. Lots of chaste cuddling and kissing and some strange need for abstinence.... even post-marital abstinence. Really? A couple of weak explanations were offered but nothing that even helped build up any anticipation for more. Each new character that was introduced included how that character smelled…. Yes, that’s right smelled. We might not get a physical description but we never missed a scent. OK, I get it Vampires have an extraordinary sense of smell and apparently witches do too but does the reader need to know the scent of each and every character? I failed to see what any of those scents added to the story line. Too many long drawn out scene descriptions about the mundane; eating, sleeping, drinking tea, drinking wine, bathing and yoga.I found the plot or plots or lack there of to be completely contrived; the historical references would have been pretty cool if they arose more naturally in the context of the plot. Those references were just dropped in here and there with no apparent purpose. We were reminded early in the book that vampires do not eat, they drink blood and have no sleep requirements. But when those restrictions didn't work into the plot things changed: When he had a dinner engagement he ate albeit with a certain preference for raw meats and nuts. Matthew drank so much more wine than blood. And then when his attention needed to be diverted to work into the story line... he slept. One evening of kissing and cuddling sent our Matthew right into a deep sleep complete with snoring. He didn't wake when Diana got up and went outside, as he had specifically warned against, and was promptly abducted!And then it ended… just ended! I understand leaving room for a sequel but each book should also stand alone. This did not. Big disappointment. I hung in there to the bitter end but doubt that would have been possible if not for the very good narration. So I slogged through it but never came to care enough about the story or the characters to have any interest in a sequel.

Your report has been received. It will be reviewed by Audible and we will take appropriate action.

Can't wait to hear more from this listener?

You can now follow your favorite reviewers on Audible.

When you follow another listener, we'll highlight the books they review, and even email* you a copy of any new reviews they write. You can un-follow a listener at any time to stop receiving their updates.

* If you already opted out of emails from Audible you will still get review emails by the listeners you follow.